In our paper we seek to conceptually interpret business strategies related to sustainability from a transition perspective. We argue that there is an emergent trend of businesses and industries that move beyond optimizing the organization's individual performance, by mitigating negative environmental and social impacts, to fundamentally restructuring and rethinking existing businesses in light of broader societal changes. By means of the transition framework, we conceptualize the development of new sustainable business models as a new phase in corporate responsibility, in which societal sustainability challenges are translated into new socio-economic business models implying fundamental transitions within businesses. We then outline the basic contours of an approach that seeks to make business transitions to sustainable systems manageable in terms of influencing speed and direction of business transitions by adapting the transition management framework. We describe the framework of business transition management in a number of interlinked activities based on an experimental participatory case study of the transition in the Dutch roof sector.

Business transition management: exploring a new role for business in sustainability transitions

PurposeOrganic food market has grown rapidly on a global level and so is the interest of customers. The present paper ranks the factors and sub-criteria which are taken into consideration while making organic purchase decisions resulting in understanding the behaviour of consumers.Design/methodology/approachThe present paper considered a sample of 550 respondents in the area of Punjab. Fuzzy AHP technique was applied to understand the key factors and sub-criteria which play a major role in organic food purchase decisions. The paper is empirical and descriptive in nature. The factors considered for the study include price, consumer knowledge, trust, attitude, behavioural intentions, subjective norms, perceived personal relevance and perceived consumer effectiveness.FindingsThe three major influential factors include price, trust and attitude ranked in the same order of preference which majorly affects the purchase decisions and talking about sub-criteria the three major criteria to purchase organic food include: “Price plays a significant role in purchase decisions (P2)”, “Organic food keeps me fit and healthy (A1)” and “Organic food intake makes me feel energetic (A2)”.Research limitations/implicationsThe present paper is limited to the area of Punjab and majorly eight factors have been taken into consideration. Further research can be explored on broader geographical and cultural areas with new dimensions in criteria and sub-criteria.Practical implicationsThe findings of this paper will surely help the marketers to understand the behavioural intentions and preferences of the customers. Accordingly, they will strategize the policies to convert organic food market into a niche market with a high growth rate.Originality/valueThe existing literature explored various key factors. However, the present study comes up with ranking to the factors according to their priority in purchase decisions. This will definitely help marketers, business houses, practitioners and academicians about the key factors which affect purchase decisions, and it will surely add incredible knowledge into the existing database.

Factors affecting consumer purchase intentions of organic food through fuzzy AHP

In the era of digitalization and technology, tremendous changes have taken place in the taxi industry worldwide. The traditional taxi service has transformed into the latest innovative technology-based e-hailing service. There are innumerable factors that drive the user adoption of e-hailing apps. This study aims to primarily concentrate on identifying, analyzing and ranking these factors which have an impact on the user intention toward using e-hailing apps.,The e-hailing app users in the state of Punjab and Chandigarh are the target population for the study. A fuzzy analytical hierarchy process technique has been applied to analyze and codify the determinants that influence the user intention of adopting e-hailing apps. The primary factors that have been considered for the study are social influence, perceived usefulness, facilitating conditions, perceived ease of use, self-efficacy, perceived risk, compatibility and trust.,The study revealed that “Perceived Usefulness” is the factor that influences user intention to use e-hailing apps the most, while “Perceived Risk” the least. The sub-criteria codified in the top priority was as follows: “Overall, I find the e-hailing app useful in booking a taxi (C15)”; “I do not need some people to use e-hailing apps (C52); “I believe e-hailing app is compatible with existing technology (C61).” The sub-criterion “E-hailing app service provider keeps its promise (C72)” was demonstrated to have the least impact on the user intention of adopting e-hailing apps.,The study has been confined to only eight factors selected from the extended technological acceptance model framework and some related technology acceptance theories. Some more other factors may have an impact on user adoption of e-hailing apps, which need to be added further. Also, the scope of the study should be enhanced by expanding the geographical area beyond the selected region.,The findings of the study enable the e-hailing service providers and marketers to understand the users’ intention in a better way, to make improvements in e-hailing apps and formulate strategies accordingly.,The previous literature provides the base to the present study for identifying the factors affecting user behavioral intention toward e-hailing apps and information technology. The findings and results of the present research make value addition to the existing knowledge base.

What drives e-hailing apps adoption? An analysis of behavioral factors through fuzzy AHP

The present study aimed at investigating nomophobia prevalence, thus, recurrence of anxiety without a smartphone, with preservice teachers in the Colleges of Education, Ghana. An actual sample of 345 preservice teachers responded to a 20-item questionnaire on nomophobia (NMP-Q). A one-way MANOVA between different groups statistics was applied in determining the differences in nomophobic behaviours among preservice teachers based on non-technology-related variables (gender, age, specialism, subjective economic status, sleep/rest hours, and religion) and technology-related variables (number of smartphones owned, smartphone ownership duration, active internet services, and daily internet usage time). The results evidenced that the vast majority of preservice teachers had mild to severe nomophobia, and their most significant anxiety was related to access to information and communication. Besides, non-technology-related variables in gender, sleep hours, and subjective economic status significantly impacted the preservice teachers’ nomophobia. Technology-related variables that significantly influenced the nomophobic behaviour of preservice teachers included the number of smartphones owned, smartphone ownership duration, and active internet service. A sizable majority of the preservice teachers showed signs of mild to severe nomophobia. The present study provides prefatory support for the prevalence of nomophobia among the Ghanaian preservice teachers. 

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Nomophobia among Preservice Teachers: a descriptive correlational study at Ghanaian Colleges of Education


Purpose
The purpose of this study is to assess the intellectual property (IP) policy and innovation practices of higher education institutions (HEIs) and to understand the impact of national intellectual property rights (IPR) policy at the ground level. It identifies the barriers of HEIs in the generation of IP, its commercialization and technology transfer.


Design/methodology/approach
This cross-sectional study aims to understand the innovation practices and IP policy framework of HEIs in India. It was studied in a qualitative approach with a structured questionnaire tool deployed to the top management of HEIs (targeted respondents), using convenience sampling methods.


Findings
The results imply that IP policies and innovation practices of HEIs in India are evolving and need to align with the global standard as envisaged in the national IPR policy. Lack of commensurate incentives to the inventors, linkages with industries and facilities were found to be major barriers among HEIs and research institutions. Institutional IP policy shall be framed to promote industry linkages with universities resulting in successful IP generation and technology transfer.


Research limitations/implications
The sample size in this study is less; however, it does not have an impact on the study outcome, as it is a qualitative approach.


Practical implications
This study brings awareness among stakeholders of IP generation and commercialization regarding the barriers and needed changes to overcome them through policy.


Social implications
It helps policymakers to redesign the tools of IP and innovation policy to enable the innovation promotion at HEIs. This study identifies innovation practices and institutional barriers in the generation of IP.


Originality/value
This qualitative survey-based study helps in understanding the innovation practices of HEIs in India. It also aims to identify the barriers of HEIs on the generation and commercialization of IP.


Intellectual property rights policies of higher education institutions (HEIs) in India: a cross-sectional study

In today's competitive environment, sustainability is talked out in every sphere of life. Sustainability is a key to stability and for that roots are being focused by incorporating sustainability in higher education. The basic purpose of this paper is to prioritize the sustainability drivers in the higher education system. This research will provide fruitful insight into the sustainability drivers in the higher education system to the education industry and policymakers.,The present research is conducted on the 400 students studying in four major universities in the state of Punjab. Fuzzy analytical hierarchy process was applied to prioritize the sustainability drivers in the higher education system. The primary factors considered for the present study include social-people (social responsibility), environmental-planet (sustainable environmental practices) and financial-profit (economic value created).,The most influential criteria were environmental-planet (sustainable environmental practices) and social-people (social responsibility). The five most influential subcriteria were “Student engagement in eco co-curricular activities (C21)”, Energy efficiency measures (C23)”, “The HEI as a job driver in the city (C11)”, “Total direct energy consumption (C31)” and “Support from the HEI for local initiatives and help in growing the sustainability of the community or region (C12)”.,Although the sample survey conducted in this study was focused on a small sample selected from the state of Punjab which genuinely represented the total population, it is still considered as a limitation for the present study.,The outcome of this research provides policymakers with a better understanding of the sustainability drivers in higher education. This will further help them toward achieving the aim of sustainability.,The present research is based on the available literature on sustainability and the results of the study would add value to the existing knowledge base.

Ajay Sharma

Papers

Identifying sustainability drivers in higher education through fuzzy AHP